Trace-carrier.



' No. 636,802. Patented Nov. 14,1899.

. J. T. HOLLAND.

TRACE CARRIER.

(Application filed May 24, 1899.) (No Model.)

I I I I I I I UNITED STATE PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES THOMAS HOLLAND, OF STANTON DEPOT, TENNESSEE.

TRACE-CARRIER.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 636,802, dated November 14, 1899.

Application filed May 24, 1899.

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMEs THOMAS HoL- LAND, a citizen of the United States, residing at Stanton Depot, in the county of Haywood and State of Tennessee, have invented a new and useful Back-Band Hook, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to back-band hooks or loops; and the object of the invention is to provide an article of the character referred to which is not only designed to carry orsupport the trace, but is also adapted to support the trace at different heights. The construction provides for adjusting the height of the trace without detaching or removing the trace from the loop. It is, of course, an obvious advantage to have the trace extend in approximately a straight line, so a direct pull may be obtained thereon. Where the trace does not extend in a straight line, itis apt to either bear upward or downward on the backband loop, in one case exerting a downward pressure on the back of the animal and in the other case tending to lift the trace out of proper engagement with the loop. The present invention overcomes this difficulty, and

by providing for the adjustment up and down of the trace the latter may be maintained in a straight position at all times. It also facilitates the adjustment of the harness to animals of different sizes and heights.

The invention consists in a back-band loop or book embodying certain novel features and details of construction, as hereinafter described, illustrated in the drawings, and pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved back-band hook, showing the same in its applied position. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail perspective view of a preferred form of the device. Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the device bent up from apiece of wire or a metal strip. Fig. 4 is a similar view showing a slightly-modified form of the device.

Similar numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings.

The back-band hook or loop contemplated in this invention comprises, essentially, a back-band loop proper (indicated at l) and a trace loop or carrier portion 2,extendin g down- Serial No. 718,101. (No ads.)

ward therefrom. The device as a whole in side elevation resembles the capital letter T, the upper loop 1 being of the proper width and depth to receive the back-band 3. The lower or trace loop is composed of parallel portions in the form of upright bars 4, said bars or portions being connected at their lower ends by a transverse bar or connecting-piece 5, which prevents the down ward escape of the trace. The bars 4 need not necessarily be parallel to each other, but are preferably substantially so. One of the bars 4 is preferably arranged in the plane of the loop 2, extending directly downward therefrom, while the other or outer bar 4 is arranged in a plane located outside of the loop 1. The outer bar 4 also stands to one side of the inner bar, and the two bars 4 are arranged in a vertical plane which is at an oblique angle to the plane of the upper loop 1, the cross portion 5 at the bottom thereof extending in a corresponding plane.

The trace-loop 2 may be said to be a compound loop, in that it is separated by projections or fingers 6 into two, three, or more tracereceiving portions. The projections 5 may be arranged at any suitable heights or intervals and are preferably formed integral, with their respective bars extending laterally over said bars, some inward and some outward, the project-ions being arranged in pairs, the projections of each pair being arranged in the same horizontal plane. The projections 5 may extend at right angles to the bars 4, but are preferably inclined slightly upward toward their extremities or given a concavity or upward curve as to their upper edges, upon which the trace rests. Suflicient space is left between the bar4 to admit of the trace being moved up and down for the purpose of resting it upon either set of projections.

The device illustrated in Fig. 2 is shown as in the form of a casting, while in Fig. 3 it is shown as made from a single strip of metal or piece of wire of the requisite gage, in which event the projections 5 are formed by bending or crimping the wire at suitable points, so as to form the ofisets 7. Where the device is constructed of wire, the end portions or terminals of the wire are preferably arranged at the top, so as to overlap each other, as shown at 8, and form the top bar of the back-band loop, such overlapping portions being included and concealed within the looped end of the back-band.

In Fig. 4 1 have shown one of the projections 6 as provided with an upwardly-extending guard 9, said guard being secured at its lower end to the end of the projection and extending therefrom in substantially parallel relation to the side portions or bars 4 of the trace-loop. This is an additional safeguard against the trace slipping off the end of the projection and passing downward, butis not essential to the invention and may in many cases be dispensed with. Smaller guards 9 may be placed on all of the projections, if desired.

In operation the trace is inserted through the upper or back-band loop and then bent sufficiently to enable it to pass downwardly between the side bars or portions 4 of the trace-loop until it rests upon the upper lugs or projections 6. By reason of one of said bars being set farther out than the other the trace upon being released will straighten out. If the trace is still too high, by bending it it may be passed downward until it rests on the desired projections or in the bottom of the loop, where it may be left.

This construction enables the height of the trace to be readilyand quickly adjusted, and at the same time there is no liability of the trace becoming displaced.

From the foregoing it is thought that the construction,operation,and manyad vantages of the herein-described back-band book will be apparent without furtherdescription, and it will be understood that changes in the size, shape, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is As an article of manufacture, a combined back-band loop and trace-carrier, in which the plane of the trace-loop is oblique to the plane of the back-band loop and the side bars of the trace-loop relatively rigid, an oblique bar conmeeting the lower ends of the side bars of the trace-loop and forming a trace-rest, and another trace-rest at a higher elevation consisting of rigid projections extending laterally from the respective side bars in opposite directions, side by side in the same horizontal plane but spaced apart to permit the trace when deflected to be passed between them, said projections extending in planes parallel to each other but oblique with respect to the plane of the trace-loop, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES THOMAS HOLLAND.

Witnesses:

THos. L. MARTIN, J. K. GIBSON. 

